Every sensible country ought to ban NGOs from collecting money from the US. Naso dem de destabilize countries & topple regimes of countries they don’t like.
Using NGOs to fund opposition & insurrection all started in Iran, against Mohammad Mosaddegh, one time P-minister of Iran.
Using NGOs to fund opposition & insurrection all started in Iran, against Mohammad Mosaddegh, one time P-minister of Iran.
Mohammad Mosaddegh was a nationalist parliamentarian who became very popular with the Iranian people because of his anti western rhetoric and opposition against the western installed shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The people saw him as a liberator who deeply cared about them.
In 1951 the parliament chose him to be prime minister. But he promptly resigned, complaining that the shah had denied him authority to appoint the minister of war and other senior officials. Public protests followed, but the shah caved and quickly reinstated him to his post.
Mosaddegh set about nationalizing the oil industry, to pull Iran free from Britain and the United States. The shah opposed him, fearing that the West would respond with an oil embargo that would leave Iran in economic ruins.
But Mosaddegh pressed on, with the parliament’s
But Mosaddegh pressed on, with the parliament’s
near-unanimous approval. When the shah tried to replace him, much of the public, seeing the hand of foreigners in their politics(through the shah because he was a western stooge) joined in riots. Fearing a mutiny in the lower ranks if he ordered the army to suppress the riots,
the shah fled the country without abandoning his throne.
The west acted swiftly by shutting down Iran’s refinery and boycotting Iranian oil. They also shut down the Strait of Hormuz which hindered all seagoing trade with Iran. The economy became crippled and eventually collapsed.
The west acted swiftly by shutting down Iran’s refinery and boycotting Iranian oil. They also shut down the Strait of Hormuz which hindered all seagoing trade with Iran. The economy became crippled and eventually collapsed.
But that wasn’t all, Mosaddegh’s program of nationalization and interference in markets and his attempt to rule by decree invited the picture of a communist who might align with the Russians. So for political as well as economic reasons, he had to go.
Britain and the US plotted how to get what they wanted in a country bordering the Soviet Union without starting World War III. They decided on a coup, rather than an invasion. It seemed the best course for several reasons.
First, if the British invaded Iran,
First, if the British invaded Iran,
the Soviets likely would respond by invading the northern provinces. That could lead to a shooting war in which the Soviets would have a huge logistical advantage. They might push the British and Americans to the south and possibly out of Iran, and that would position the
Red Army to directly threaten neighboring Turkey. The Soviets also would gain direct access to the Persian Gulf, something the Russians had dreamed of since Peter the Great. From there, the Soviet navy could enter the Indian Ocean.
However, a coup that returned the shah to his
However, a coup that returned the shah to his
throne would be much less of a provocation to the Russians. And a grateful shah could be expected to yield further concessions to American oil companies.
Though the Western powers would deny any involvement in the coup, other Middle Eastern governments would know who did it.
Though the Western powers would deny any involvement in the coup, other Middle Eastern governments would know who did it.
The show of US strength and cunning would help keep those governments oriented toward the West.
Given CIA assurances of his safety, the shah returned to Iran, and the US set about organizing and funding supposedly spontaneous demonstrations against Mosaddegh. They paid clergy,
Given CIA assurances of his safety, the shah returned to Iran, and the US set about organizing and funding supposedly spontaneous demonstrations against Mosaddegh. They paid clergy,
politicians, army officers, and even street thugs to join in the campaign of protest. Given the hardships brought on by Iran’s economic isolation, protests were easily pumped up into riots.
The coup came in August 1953, but despite all the planning, it didn’t come smoothly.
The coup came in August 1953, but despite all the planning, it didn’t come smoothly.
The shah dispatched the military to the prime minister’s residence to take Mosaddegh into custody. But the Imperial Guard colonel attempting to carry out the arrest was himself arrested by supporters of Mosaddegh. However, the CIA had already hired a string of Tehran mobsters
to incite pro-shah riots. Other CIA financed men were brought into Tehran in buses and trucks and took to the streets. Between 300 and 800 people died in clashes between them and Mosaddegh supporters.
A pro-shah mob paid by the CIA marched on Mosaddegh’s resi- dence and succeeded
A pro-shah mob paid by the CIA marched on Mosaddegh’s resi- dence and succeeded
in arresting him. He was tried and convicted of treason by the shah’s military court. In December 1953, he was sen- tenced to three years in prison, after which he was placed under house arrest, where he remained until his death 14 years later, in 1967.
Other Mosaddegh supporters were imprisoned, and several were executed.
For decades, both the CIA and MI6 refused to admit they’d been involved.
For decades, both the CIA and MI6 refused to admit they’d been involved.
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